How To Treat Pulled Stomach Muscle

If you have a problem with a pulled stomach muscle, you’ve come to the right place to find out how to treat a pulled stomach muscle. This usually occurs when an abdominal muscle has been torn or stretched. The cause for a pulled stomach muscle can be anything from not warming up before strenuous exercise, the exercise itself or even coughing. Usually the pulled stomach muscle will have a dull pain most all of the time and becomes worse when you try to move. Here are some steps to show you how to treat a pulled stomach muscle.

Before any home treatment is attempted, make sure that you are not dealing with a hernia. You will know that you have a hernia if you have a protrusion through your stomach. If you see this, you have a more serious condition than a pulled stomach muscle and must seek medical attention. Surgery will probably be required to repair the tear in your abdominal fascia.

Once you have ruled out a hernia, you then need to sit down as soon as possible in a reclining position. Apply ice packs to the affected area and keep the stomach muscles in a stretched position. If you don’t have any ice, a frozen bag of vegetables will work just fine. Never apply ice directly to the skin. Putting a wet towel between the skin and the ice is a good idea. The ice can be applied to the area for about 30 minutes at a time and every three to four hours as needed. Continue this plan of treatment for several days or until the pain subsides substantially. After a few days, if the pain still has not improved, you should probably talk to your doctor because you might have a more serious injury.

You may also take an over the counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication by mouth to help ease the pain and help you to move around a bit.

The PRICE formula (protection, rest, ice, and elevation) can greatly help the pulled stomach muscle. Here is how to do it: Protect the stomach muscle from further injury.

Rest the pulled stomach muscle and stay away from any activities that might have caused the strain or that might be painful.

As mentioned above, ice the muscle area. Ice is a very effective pain relieving item and anti-inflammatory.

You may apply compression with an elastic bandage. This should decrease the swelling and support the area, but do not wrap tightly.

It is recommended that any activity or exercise that would use the pulled stomach muscle should be avoided until the pain has significantly subsided.

To possibly avoid this from happening in the future, warm up before any extensive exercise is entertained. Do daily stretching exercises and establish a warm up routine before any exercise.